Tohoku Free Blades

Tohoku Free Blades
CityHachinohe, Aomori
LeagueAsia League Ice Hockey
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008)
Operated2008–present
Home arenaFlat Hachinohe
Colours     
Owner(s)Xebio Co. Ltd.
General managerKeisuke Araki
Head coachChris Wakabayashi
CaptainGo Tanaka
Websitewww.freeblades.jp

The Tohoku Free Blades (東北フリーブレイズ) are an Asia League Ice Hockey team based in Hachinohe, Aomori, Japan.

Community contributions

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The team has a number of community programs it runs under the mantra of "Team Social Responsibility". The team engages in youth oriented activities like running skating schools, working with high-school teams, visiting schools to interact with kids, and other kinds of junior hockey workshops. The team also attends various festivals and events in the communities in which they play.[1]

Arena

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The team plays mainly out of several rinks, including Niida Indoor Rink in Hachinohe City. The rink was completed in 1984 and renovated in 2002. It features an ice surface 30m wide by 60m long and seats 1,576 people.[2] In the 2010-2011 season, the Free Blades played games as the home team out of the Shin-Yokohama Skate Center, which is the Seibu Prince Rabbits old home arena. The team also played games in Morioka Ice Arena in Morioka, Iwate, Bandai Atami Ice Arena in Kōriyama, Fukushima, and Higashi-Fushimi Ice Arena in Nishitōkyō, Tokyo.[3] The team previously used Misawa Ice Arena in Misawa, Aomori, for some home games.[4]

Team colors and mascot

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The Free Blades' logo consists of the word Free Blades written on two lines as solid blue letters with a light blue and white outline. The L is replaced with a hockey stick and a puck is featured at the end of the word "Blades". The text is set on a pair of white wings. It is also stylized with the "B" and "S" having extended points and the "S" also featuring a sweeping bottom stroke. All letters are capitalized.[5]

Jerseys

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Both the home and away jerseys feature silver on the shoulders and arms. The home jersey features a silver and blue panel along the side of the body while the away jersey features a solid white panel. The away jersey has a silver and green ring around the bottom while the home jersey features no ring. The home jerseys feature thin silver, green and white rings around the elbows, and the away jerseys have a single thick green ring. The logo is set in the middle of the chest and the jerseys have sponsor logos on top and in front of the shoulders. Additional sponsorship logos appear on the lower back of the jersey. The home jersey has a solid dark blue core and the away jersey has a solid white core.[6]

Mascot

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The Free Blades mascot is a white horse with light blue hair. The horse has an aggressive look and features blue eyes as well as two upward pointed ears. The hair is light blue and stringy pointed in several directions. The mascot wears the away jersey, which features additional blue panelling under the arms, and has two white wings attached on the back. The mascot is named "Blazey."[7]

History

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Founded in 2008, they played their first Asia League season in 2009–10. The Free Blades have been one of the more successful teams since its creation, winning three Asia League titles (2011, 2013, 2015).

Year-by-year record

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complete records for previous seasons[8]

Season GP W W(OT) W(GWS) L(GWS) L(OT) L GF GA PTS Finish Playoffs
2009–10 36 13 0 4 1 0 18 132 142 48 5th/7 Did not reach playoffs
2010–11 36 18 1 3 2 4 8 160 112 68 3rd/7 Won Co-Championship
2011–12 36 13 3 1 4 1 4 106 111 52 6th/7 Did not reach playoffs
2012–13 42 24 0 2 3 3 13 187 141 73 2nd/7 Won Championship
Totals 150 68 4 10 10 8 43 585 506 - - 2 Championships

Roster

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The Tohoku Free Blades in a pre-game circle wearing their away uniforms

updated 1 November 2010[9]

Goaltenders
# Country Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
31 Japan Michio Hashimoto L 2009 Hachinohe, Japan
50 Japan Shigehito Kimoto L 2011 Obihiro, Japan
55 Japan Hata Michukazu L 2012 Kushiro, Japan
Defencemen
# Country Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
2 Japan Yugo Hagiwara L 2011 Matsudo, Chiba
3 Japan Yuuya Ariyoshi L 2010 Sapporo, Japan
4 Canada Darrell Hay R 2013 Kamloops, Canada
8 China Hu Tianyu R 2012 China
27 Japan Tomohito Ohkubo L 2012 Tomakomai, Japan
44 Canada Brad Farynuk R 2012 Enderby, Canada
54 Japan Goshi Kumagai 2013 Japan
58 Japan Yuhei Shinohara R 2013 Japan
84 Japan Kyouhei Kikuchi – A R 2010 Japan
Forwards
# Country Player Position Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
9 Japan Michitaka Motono F L 2013 Japan
10 Japan Katsumasa Kondo F L 2013 Japan
11 Japan Masahito Suzuki RW R 2009 Tomakomai, Japan
14 Japan Go Tanaka - C C L 2010 Sapporo, Hokkaidō
18 Japan Naoto Mizuuchi F R 2012 Tomakomai, Hokkaidō,
19 Japan Takahashi Kosuke F 2012 Hokkaido, Japan
21 Japan Kazuki Yamamoto RW L 2009 Hokkaidō, Japan
22 Japan Ryō Tanaka RW R 2009 Sapporo, Hokkaidō
23 Japan Yoshikazu Kashino LW/RW R 2009 Tomakomai, Hokkaidō
25 Japan Kawamoto Akihito LW R 2011 Nagoya, Aichi
28 Japan Takuro Yamashita LW R 2011 Kushiro, Hokkaidō
40 Japan Takuma Kawai LW L 2009 Eniwa, Japan
43 Montenegro Ned Lukacevic LW L 2013 Podgorica, Montenegro
47 Japan Kota Shinohara C R 2012 Kushiro, Japan

Leaders

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Team captains

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  • Yasuhiro Ouchi 2009-2010
  • Go Tanaka 2010–Present

Head coaches

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  • Chris Wakabayashi 2009–2014
  • JP MacCallum 2014–15
  • Chris Wakabayashi 2015–Present

Honors

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Past import players

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References

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  1. ^ "TEAM SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TSR(社会的責任)". Freeblades.jp. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  2. ^ "新井田インドアリンク アーカイブ". City of Hachinohe. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  3. ^ "Regular Schedule". Alhockey.com. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  4. ^ "2009-2010 Regular game results". Alhockey.com. 9 February 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  5. ^ "Team profile". Alhockey.com. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  6. ^ "Free Blades Gallery". Freeblades.jp. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
  7. ^ "プレーオフ第4戦、クレインズを下し逆王手に！！". Free Blades official team blog. 5 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
  8. ^ "2009-2010 / Regular Standings". alhockey.com. Retrieved 2 February 2010.
  9. ^ "Team Information". Freeblades Official Site. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
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